Bride-to-be gets wrong dress, finds and returns it to correct bride

Leanne Suter Image
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Rancho Cucamonga bride-to-be gets wrong dress, finds the owner
A Rancho Cucamonga woman received her wedding dress in the mail only to realize it wasn't her dress. The bride-to-be reached out to Eyewitness News and found its rightful owner.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, California -- A California woman received a wedding dress in the mail that wasn't hers, so the bride-to-be reached out to Eyewitness News and found its rightful owner.

"As soon as I saw the label, I was like OK this is somebody else's dress," Angela Navarro said. "I can't do that to somebody. At least somebody else will have a happy wedding, and they'll be able to have their dress."

Navarro and Brittany, who did not want to disclose her last name, both bought their dresses from Alfred Angelo Bridal, which closed all of its stores nationwide without notice after filing for bankruptcy.

"I just didn't think I'd be able to find another dress," Brittany said. "There's no way I could afford another dress. There's no way."

Navarro, who had been told her dress had been found and was sent to her, was shocked when she and her daughter opened the box to find the wrong dress.

While Navarro's information was on the label, Brittany's information was inside on the dress. The 34-year-old was heartbroken, but she knew she had to do the right thing and track down the original bride.

Brittany said she talked to Navarro over the phone and wanted to be 100 percent sure the dress was hers, so she asked for photos. She said she cried when she saw that it was her dress.

But for Navarro, the search for her dress continues as she counts down to her wedding in April.

"My fear is that somebody's going to get my dress and maybe they're going to be a size 8, and they're going to want to keep it," she said. "I'm hoping that, you know, pay it forward. If somebody finds my dress, then they will contact me."

She believes her dress was likely sent to another bride who bought a gown at the Rancho Cucamonga store, but she hasn't received any answers from the company.

Brittany hopes another bride-to-be will help Navarro.

"She did the right thing for me," she said. "I'm hoping somebody will do the right thing for her, for sure."